Data Methodology
FameLifter sources every channel statistic, video metric, and subscriber count from the official YouTube Data API v3. We refresh on an hourly cadence, we do not scrape, and we do not present third-party estimates as facts. Every number you see can be traced back to YouTube's own public data.
How we source and refresh data
YouTube Data API v3
Channel statistics, video metadata, and subscriber counts come directly from the official YouTube Data API v3 — the same source YouTube uses internally. No scraping, no proxies, no reverse engineering.
Hourly refresh cycle
Channel data is re-fetched and re-rendered on an hourly cadence via Incremental Static Regeneration. Trending and country-level rankings update at least hourly; high-traffic channels are kept hot.
No third-party estimates
We never display estimated subscriber counts dressed up as facts. Where we show estimated ad revenue, the formula (views × published CPM range) is shown next to the number and clearly labeled.
What we do — and what we don't
We do
- Pull data directly from the official YouTube Data API v3.
- Refresh channel pages hourly with the latest API response.
- Show the same rounded subscriber counts that YouTube displays publicly.
- Display the math behind any estimated metric (e.g., revenue ranges).
- Label AI-generated content (idea generator, summaries) explicitly.
- Honor channel removal requests through YouTube's normal channels.
We don't
- Scrape the YouTube website for hidden data.
- Estimate subscriber counts using statistical models and present them as facts.
- Claim to know creators' actual ad revenue.
- Use unofficial APIs, third-party data brokers, or buy-listed datasets.
- Sell or share user data with third parties for advertising.
- Use AI to fabricate metrics — AI is for ideation and summarization only.
Refresh schedule
Different data types refresh at different cadences. Here's exactly how often each piece of information updates.
| Data type | Refresh cadence | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Channel statistics (subs, views, video count) | Hourly | YouTube Data API v3 — channels.list |
| Video metadata & statistics | Hourly (top videos), daily (long-tail) | YouTube Data API v3 — videos.list |
| Trending lists | Hourly per country | YouTube Data API v3 + regional aggregation |
| Country toplists | Daily ranking, hourly stat refresh | Internal aggregation of YouTube API data |
| Comments & transcripts (when shown) | On demand, cached 24 hours | YouTube Data API v3 — commentThreads, captions |
AI usage disclosure
Several FameLifter features use large language models — currently Google Gemini — to help with creative work. AI is used for:
- • Idea Generator: proposing video topics based on a channel and niche.
- • Video summaries: condensing transcripts into bullet points.
- • Title suggestions: recommending alternative titles for a video.
- • Diversification analysis (Pro): reading a pool of videos and suggesting under-served angles.
AI output is always labeled as AI-generated and is never used to fabricate metrics. Channel statistics, view counts, and ranking data are pulled from the YouTube Data API and are not AI estimates.